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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Onboarding Guide, Releases 26.x and Later

Which solutions support the Add Controller and Validator workflow?
What certificate file is required for the workflow?
Where do you launch the Add Controller and Validator Components workflow?

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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Onboarding Guide, Releases 26.x and Later

Which solutions support the Add Controller and Validator workflow?
What certificate file is required for the workflow?
Where do you launch the Add Controller and Validator Components workflow?

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About this content

Automated Bring-Up Sequence

Automated Bring-Up Sequence
ZTP automatic authentication process
Authentication between Cisco SD-WAN Controller and Cisco SD-WAN Validator
Authentication Between Cisco SD-WAN Controllers
Authentication between Cisco SD-WAN Validator and a WAN edge device
Authentication between the WAN edge device and Cisco SD-WAN Manager
Authentication between Cisco SD-WAN Controller and a WAN edge device

Onboarding Devices Using a Bootstrap File

Feature history for bootstrap file onboarding
One Touch Provisioning to onboard Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Devices using generic bootstrap configuration
Generic bootstrap configurations process
Onboard a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Device using generic bootstrap configuration
Remove a Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Device onboarded using generic bootstrap configuration
On-Site bootstrap process for Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN devices

Firewall Ports for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Deployments

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN-specific port terminology
Port offset
Port hopping
Effects of port hopping
Ports used by Cisco vEdge Devices
Ports used by Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN devices running multiple vCPUs
Administrative ports used by Cisco SD-WAN Manager
Configure the port offset
Perform port hopping manually

Onboarding Cisco SD-WAN Manager

Cisco SD-WAN Manager personas
Storage devices
Software download process
Feature history for device software installation
Platform support
Cisco IOS XE image compatibility
Self-signed trustpoint
Autonomous and controller modes
Restrictions for installing and upgrading device software
Software Installation for Cisco IOS XE Routers
Plug and Play onboarding
Plug and Play onboarding workflow
Non-Plug and Play onboarding
Mode discovery and mode change with a bootstrap file
Reset a device to a Controller mode day zero configuration using CLI commands
Configuration persistence during mode switch
Verifying Controller and Autonomous modes
Change the console port access after installation, in Controller mode
Restoring Smart Licensing after switching modes
Deploy a Cisco SD-WAN instance
Create a Cisco SD-WAN manager VM instance on VMware ESXi
Cisco SD-WAN Manager VM Instance on KVM
Configure Cisco SD-WAN manager

Onboarding Cisco SD-WAN Validator

Deploy Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator
Create Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Validator VM instance on ESXi
Create Cisco SD-WAN Validator VM instance on KVM
Configure the vBond orchestrator
Add Cisco SD-WAN Validator to the overlay network
Start the enterprise ZTP server

Onboarding Cisco SD-WAN Controller

Deploy a Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller controller
Create Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller VM instance on ESXi
Create a Cisco SD-WAN Controller VM instance on KVM
Configure the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Controller
Add Cisco SD-WAN Controller to the overlay network

Add SD-WAN controller and SD-WAN validator components

Feature history for SD-WAN controller and SD-WAN validator components workflow
Control components certificate management workflow
Supported solutions for the add SD-WAN controller and SD-WAN validator workflow
Supported environments for the add SD-WAN controller and SD-WAN validator components workflow
Requirements for adding SD-WAN controller and SD-WAN validator components
Add SD-WAN controllers or SD-WAN validators using a workflow

First Time Settings for SD-WAN Manager

Feature history for first time settings
First time settings for SD-WAN Manager
Enable multitenancy on SD-WAN Manager
Configure the organization name
Configure common SD-WAN Control Component network settings
Configure Smart Account credentials, SD-WAN Manager 20.18.1 and earlier
Configure cloud services
Configure certificate settings
Add Cisco SD-WAN Controller and Cisco SD-WAN Validator
Configure SD-WAN Validator IP address
Configure identity provider settings
Configure users and access
Alarm notification settings
Configure account lockout settings
Configure a web server certificate for Cisco SD-WAN Manager

Quick Connect Workflow

Feature history for the Quick Connect workflow
Quick Connect workflow for SD-WAN Manager
Prerequisites for using the Quick Connect Workflow
Restrictions for the Quick Connect Workflow
Run the Quick Connect Workflow
Auto Sync for uploading devices
Upload devices manually to SD-WAN Manager

Installing Cisco SD-WAN Control Components in the AWS Cloud

Feature history for installing Cisco SD-WAN Control Components in the AWS Cloud
Installing Cisco SD-WAN Control Components in AWS
Prerequisites for SD-WAN Control Components deployment in AWS
Use cases for SD-WAN Control Component deployment in AWS
Installing Cisco SD-WAN Control Components in AWS
Install SD-WAN Control Components in AWS
Verify the deployment of SD-WAN Control Component s in AWS
Monitor the deployment of SD-WAN Control Component in AWS

Deploying SD-WAN Control Components in Microsoft Azure

Deploy SD-WAN Control Components in Microsoft Azure
Scenarios for SD-WAN Control Component deployments in Azure
Deploy an SD-WAN Control Component image in Azure
Create an SD-WAN Control Component image in Azure
Create a Virtual Network, Subnets, and Network Security Group in Azure
Create a virtual machine for the SD-WAN Control Component
Configure the Network Security Group
Verify the deployment of SD-WAN Control Components in Azure
Monitor the deployment of SD-WAN Control Components in Azure

Device Software Installation, Cisco IOS XE 17.2.1r and Later

Feature history for device software installation
Platform support
Cisco IOS XE image compatibility
Self-signed trustpoint
Autonomous and controller modes
Restrictions for installing and upgrading device software
Software Installation for Cisco IOS XE Routers
Plug and Play onboarding
Plug and Play onboarding workflow
Non-Plug and Play onboarding
Mode discovery and mode change with a bootstrap file
Reset a device to a Controller mode day zero configuration using CLI commands
Configuration persistence during mode switch
Verifying Controller and Autonomous modes
Change the console port access after installation, in Controller mode
Restoring Smart Licensing after switching modes

Cisco SD-AVC

Feature history for Cisco SD-AVC
Cisco SD-AVC
Cloud-hosted SD-AVC
Installing and enabling Cisco SD-AVC, Releases 20.3.1 and later
Enable Cisco SD-AVC on Cisco vManage Release 20.3.1 through SD-WAN Manager 20.16.x
Enable Cisco SD-AVC on Cisco IOS XE Catalyst SD-WAN Devices

SD-AVC Cloud Connector

Feature history for Cisco SD-AVC Cloud Connector
Enable Cisco SD-AVC Cloud Connector, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Release 20.14.1 and Later
Enable Cisco SD-AVC Cloud Connector, through Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager Release 20.13.x
Enable Cloud Services

Cisco Services Authentication

Feature history of Cisco services registration
Authentication for Cisco services
Restrictions for authenticating Cisco services
Authenticate Cisco services

Control components certificate management workflow

Updated: July 7, 2026

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Certificate requirements

Explains a step-by-step interactive procedure that adds SD-WAN Controller or SD-WAN Validator components to a fabric.

A Control Components Certificate Management Workflow is a step-by-step interactive procedure that

adds either SD-WAN Controller or SD-WAN Validator components to an SD-WAN fabric, and
operates within Cisco SD-WAN Manager.

Certificate requirements

For details about certificate requirements for Cisco SD-WAN Control Components, see Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Control Components Certificates and Authorized Serial Number File Prescriptive Deployment Guide.

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The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.